1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a lever-operated connector assembly having a pair of female and male connectors which are fitted together with the use of a lever member.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Heretofore, a connector assembly of the above-mentioned kind has been proposed, in which a manipulating lever is attached to a support shaft provided to opposite side surfaces of a female connector while a cam pin which is to be engaged in a substantially arcuate cam groove in the manipulating lever is attached to opposite side surfaces of a male connector, and a lock means for locking the manipulating lever is provided on the female connector.
When both male and female connectors are initially fitted together, the cam groove in the manipulating lever is engaged with the cam pin provided on the male connector, and then the lever is pushed up so as to be turned. Accordingly, the female connector is advanced toward the male connector under the action of the lever while the cam pin provided on the male connector is guided and moved in a pin guide section formed in the female connector, and then the fitting between the male and female connectors can be completed at a position where the manipulating lever is engaged with the lock means provided on the female connector.
In the above-mentioned conventional lever-operated connector assembly, the male connector is fitted into the female connector since the substantially arcuate cam groove in the female connector presses the cam pin of the male connector when the manipulating lever is turned during initial fitting of the male connector into the female connector.
At this stage, a force with which the cam groove presses the cam pin does not come to be coincident with the direction in which the connectors are fitted together, but has a pressure angle with an angle .theta. which gradually varies since the cam pin provided on the male connector is guided and moved in the guide section formed in the female connector so that the point of force of the cam pin with respect to the cam groove does not come on the fitting axis of the male connector and the that of the female connector but relatively displaces.
Thus, since the above fitting axes of the male and female connectors do not come to be coincident with each other but are deviated from each other, the cam groove is therefore pressed in the direction of the force which pushes the cam pin so as to become eccentric, and accordingly, the male and female connectors fall into an unreasonable fitting condition.
As a result, the above-mentioned connector assembly has raised problems such as loose fitting or inferior contact between a pair of female and male terminals, causing satisfactory electrical connection to be unexpectable, and accordingly, has been unreliable.
Further, since the female and male connectors incorporate therein several female and male terminals in array, which are arranged to be fitted together, friction between the female and male terminals increases the fitting or releasing force per unit area for the female and male connectors, and accordingly, the operability of the manipulating lever for fitting and releasing the female and male connectors to and from each other has been unsatisfactory.
In view of the foregoing, the larger the fitting force per unit area of each of several pairs of terminals, the higher the structural toughness of the manipulating lever or of the frame of the female connector to and from which the male connector can be connected and disconnected, that is, the strength thereof should be increased so as to increase its rigidity.
Accordingly, the size of the manipulating lever or the frame has become larger, and further, the wall thickness thereof has increased, resulting in an increase in its weight.